Victoria cycling icon Ryder Hesjedal admits he 'chose wrong path,' accused of being taught how to dope in new book

Victoria cyclist Ryder Hesjedal was taken to hospital for evaluation after a crash in the Tour de Suisse. Hesjedal's rough season just got rougher. The 32-year-old is being accused of doping in a new book written by a Danish pro cyclist who has admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs and is currently under a two-year suspension.

Photograph by: Adrian Lam
, Victoria Times Colonist files

Excerpts from a new book by former Danish rider Michael Rasmussen say Hesjedal was shown how to use performance-enhancing drugs at the start of his career.

"And even though those mistakes happened more than 10 years ago, and they were short-lived, it does not change the fact that I made them and I have lived with that and been sorry for it ever since," Hesjedal said in the statement.

Hesjedal did not explicitly say he took performance-enhancing drugs, but in the contrite statement he apologized to fans, sponsors and other cyclists.

"To everyone in my life, inside and outside the sport, to those that have supported me and my dreams — including my friends, my family, the media, fans, my peers, sponsors — to riders who didn't make the same choices as me all those years ago, I sincerely apologize for my part in the dark past of the sport. I will always be sorry," he said.

Excerpts of Rasmussen's autobiography "Yellow Fever," released Wednesday in Danish newspaper "Politiken," claim that Rasmussen taught Hesjedal and fellow Canadian cyclists Seamus McGrath and Chris Sheppard how to use EPO, a banned substance used in blood doping, in 2003 when Hesjedal was a young mountain bike racer.

Rasmussen did not claim he ever saw any of the Canadians actually take EPO or any other banned substance.

Neither Sheppard nor McGrath could be immediately reached for comment on the allegations, which have not been verified by The Canadian Press.

A Cycling Canada spokesman said he didn't know where they could be reached. According to cyclingnews.com, Sheppard tested positive for EPO in 2005 and was banned for two years by the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport.

Rasmussen, a climbing specialist and veteran of four Tour de France races, admitted in January to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout most of his career.

Hesjedal switched from mountain bike to road racing and won the Giro d'Italia last year to become the first Canadian to win a major European tour event. The 21-day grind through Italy's mountains, valleys and coastlines is one of the world's three Grand Tour races.

The Garmin-Sharp rider battled injuries this past year.

He broke a rib in a Stage 1 crash at the Tour de France but soldiered on and finished 70th. Hesjedal had to withdraw from the Tour de Suisse after crashing out in the early stages and a virus prematurely ended his bid to defend his Giro title.

A three-time Olympian, the Victoria rider finished sixth at the 2010 Tour de France.

Hesjedal, 32, won the Lionel Conacher Award last year as The Canadian Press male athlete of the year.

"I believe that being truthful will help the sport continue to move forward, and over a year ago when I was contacted by anti-doping authorities, I was open and honest about my past," Hesjedal said. "I have seen the best and the worst of the sport and I believe that it is now in the best place it's ever been.

"I look at young riders on our team and throughout the peloton, and I know the future of the sport has arrived. I'm glad that they didn't have to make the same choices I did, and I will do everything I can to continue to help the sport that I love."

In a statement, Cycling Canada said it was "concerned by the allegations."

"Cycling Canada has always taken a strong stance against doping and we wish to reiterate that doping has no place in our sport," the statment said. "Those that break the rules will be punished to the fullest extent allowed by the anti-doping regulations."

Hesjedal won't be subject to sanctions because there is an eight-year statute of limitations under World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

Hesjedal's revelation comes a little over a year after retired Canadian cyclist Michael Barry admitted to doping.

Victoria cyclist Ryder Hesjedal was taken to hospital for evaluation after a crash in the Tour de Suisse. Hesjedal's rough season just got rougher. The 32-year-old is being accused of doping in a new book written by a Danish pro cyclist who has admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs and is currently under a two-year suspension.

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